Five thoughts: Red Raider defense still a work in progress; Could winner of Texas-Texas Tech be Cotton Bowl bound?

1. Kansas State is beatable but … The Wildcats might have the least talent of any of the top BCS contenders but they also may execute better than any of them. Kansas State simply doesn’t make mistakes and turns the opponents’ errors into points. “They do their job,” Tech defensive coordinator Art Kaufman said, “and if you make a mistake, they capitalize on it.”

2. Don’t dismiss Tech. The Internet will undoubtedly be flooded with posts calling the Red Raiders overrated and predicting a stumbling finish just like 2011. It’s not likely to happen. Tech is a solid football team that played Kansas State nearly even for a half in a hostile atmosphere. Three costly mistakes were just too much to overcome.

3. Collin Klein is for real. The K-State quarterback is not pretty. To say his throwing motion is mechanical would be an insult to robots, ‘droids and terminators everywhere. He’s still 70 percent accurate this season. And no one is more patient reading his blocks than Klein. Kansas State calls him the most valuable player in college football. It’s hard to argue.

4. Texas Tech defense remains a work in progress. It wasn’t the best in the country, let alone the Big 12. Credit new defensive coordinator Art Kaufman for improvement even though it’s sometimes two steps forward and one step back.

5. Texas-Texas Tech for the AT&T Cotton Bowl? Well, maybe. The winner of next week’s game in Lubbock has a good chance to play in Arlington, assuming the Big 12 gets two teams in the BCS. West Virginia would be the only other Cotton contender from the Big 12 at this point. While Tech has played much better than Texas this season, Mack Brown is 11-3 lifetime against the Red Raiders. Still have to like Tech in the game after Texas’ near-pratfall at Kansas.